Poch’s pain as he awaited VAR ruling that saved Spurs
MAURICIO POCHETTINO has revealed the turmoil he went through when he feared Tottenham were out of the Champions League.
In the seconds between Raheem Sterling scoring what looked like the winning goal for Manchester City and VAR ruling it out, the Spurs boss was put through the wringer.
He plumbed the depths of despair after Sterling put the ball past Hugo Lloris in stoppage time on Wednesday night – then was swept up on a wave of euphoria as the goal was ruled out.
Referee Cuneyt Cakir made the decision after viewing replays on a pitchside monitor at the Etihad, cutting short the celebrations of City manager Pep Guardiola.
Seconds earlier, Pochettino hurled his jacket and sweater in despair and slumped into his seat with Spurs seemingly having blown their chance of reaching the semi-finals.
As Cakir delivered his verdict – that Sergio Aguero was offside in the build-up when Christian Eriksen passed back towards his own goal – it was a stunned Guardiola’s turn to throw down his coat.
Pochettino told how the “goal” was the worst experience of his coaching career. “I didn’t want to watch,” he said.
“In that moment I took off my jacket and jumper and threw them to the bench and then I went to my seat and thought very bad things.
“But then I heard my assistant manager Jesus Perez’s voice say, ‘Oh maybe it is offside – VAR are checking’. And in that moment I was alive again.
“It was a few seconds like this,” added the Argentinian, putting his head in his hands. “It was so fast. There were a lot of bad feelings and bad ideas.
“Yes of course it was the lowest moment in my coaching career. Yes. Massive. It was going to be a massive situation emotionally. We for sure would have been very down.
“You start to think, ‘Why?’ Where Christian Eriksen played the ball back, I was thinking, ‘Why not play forward?’
“I was reviewing the action, the decision, how I was going to face the players, the fans, the press. All these things happened so quickly in my mind.
“It’s amazing. When you’re so down and then something you don’t expect happens. It’s amazing how quick things happen in your mind, different emotions and ideas.”
A video of the Spurs dressing room circulating on social media after the away-goals win saw Pochettino striding in and roaring in triumph while his players rejoiced.
“I hope no one puts that on social media,” he joked. “Because I saw a video someone recorded of celebrating in the dressing room. I hope that this is private!
“We were very happy, we celebrated. It was normal. It was a fantastic moment and we were all together, massive happiness, sharing it all together. We realised there in the dressing room it was a fantastic achievement for us, for the club.”
Tottenham return to face Manchester City in the league tomorrow, and then begin preparations for their semifinal against Ajax.
The Dutch club astounded Europe this week by knocking out Juventus having already seen off Real Madrid.
Pochettino refused to consider the moment a turning point for a club who too often have faded as glory beckoned.
“I don’t believe that,” he said. “It was amazing to achieve this, but there’s still a lot of work to do for the club if we want to be at the level we dream to be at.
“Of course the way we’re doing this is the way to build your reputation. You build towards being one day at
the level you want.”
When Eriksen played the ball back I was thinking.. Why not forward?
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